Stamp dispensing machine



Aug. 25, 1964 H. K. GORDON ETAL STAMP DISPENSING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Nov. 29, 1960 INVENTORS. flower /6 6047 0 Aug. 25, 1964 H. K.GORDON ETAL 3,

STAMP DISPENSING MACHINE Filed fi'ov. 29, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INAT0125. flower 16 60/40 wd/qzn/ Maya/7 rrow/5% United States PatentOfifice 3,145,890 Patented Aug. 25, 1964.

3,145,890 STAMP DISPENSING MACHINE Homer K. Gordon and Andrew Morgan,both of 3725 Touzalin Ave., Lincoln, Nebr. Filed Nov. 29, 1960, Ser. No.72,511 7 Claims. (Cl. '22516) This invention relates generally toimprovements in machines for intermittently dispensing selected andvariable quantities of stamps from a stamp strip rolled up and stored incoil form. It is directed more particularly to machines wherein thestamps are formed into relatively wide strips, say, for example, five ormore stamps wide, and consequently where the stamp coil has asubstantial moment of inertia during the early stages of dispensing.

The use of the so-called trading stamps in conjunction with retailstores operations is widespread. Such stamps are supplied to the retailoperator in sheets, perforations being provided to subdivide the sheetsinto rows of stamps. In many cases the sheets are offered in flat form.The retailer in this instance merely separates the desired number ofstamps by tearing along the perforations. However, efforts have beenmade to provide dispensing machines which are capable of furnishing, inresponse to the turn of a dial or otherwise, a preselected quantity ofstamps. Usually in such machines the stamps are stored with the sheet orstrip in rolled up or coil form, the sheet being unwound as dispensingtakes place. The present invention deals with a machine of this type.

One of the main objectives of the invention is to provide means in sucha machine which overcomes, among others, two troublesome problems whichhave long plagued dispensing machines in which the stamp sheets are fiveor more stamps wide. One of these is the problem caused by overrunningof the coil during the stamp dispensing operation, which often resultsin blacklash of the strip and jamming of the machine. The other is thecompanion problem of tearing of the strip if the coil is restrained inany way during the unwinding operation, and the strip is pulled tootaut.

A further and related object of the invention is to provide means of thecharacter described in which the anti-backlash mechanism is joined withand functions as a part of the protective means for preventing tearingof the strip at the later stages of dispensing. A particular feature ofthe invention resides in the simplicity of the structure and the limitednumber of components required for achieving the desired results.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a machine in whichthe dispensing of stamps from a wide roll or coil is accurate andfoolproof. Not only is free feed of the stamps from the machineobtained, but also the feed is accurately indexed so that the stamps aresheared and separated from the roll exactly along the perforations whichsubdivide the sheet or strip.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a stamp dispensingmachine of the character described in which improved means for lockingthe machine against dispensing, when desired, is provided.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing machinein which the stamps are accurately dispensed and which operates smoothlyunder all conditions of the coil, that is, from the thickest conditionto the point of complete depletion.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a compact andlight-weight machine for the purposes set forth; to provide a machinewhich requires little maintenance and service; which is capable ofeflicient operation even though handled and manipulated roughly byuntrained operators; and which can be manufactured and sold atrelatively low cost.

Other and further objects of the invention, together with the featuresof novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the instantspecification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, and in whichlike reference numerals indicate like parts in the various views;

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a typical machine embodying our invention,the protective casing having been removed and certain parts broken awayfor purposes of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the machine, the casing now being inplace, but shown in part in transverse section;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the machine taken from the left-hand sideof FIG. 1, the casing again being shown in section;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the ing been removed;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 66 ofFIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken generally along the line77 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view illustrating the condition of the clutchand ratchet wheel at a point during the operation.

Referring now to the drawings, and initially to FIGS. 1 through 4,reference numeral 10 indicates a generally rectangular horizontal baseplate which forms the bottom platform for the machine. The base platemay conveniently be stamped from sheet metal and is provided at the fourcorners with rubber or plastic pedestal legs 11 secured thereto bybolted connection 12.

The working mechanism is concealed by an open bottom plastic casinghaving the front wall 13, opposed side walls 14- and 15, rear wall 16and top 17. Although not shown, the casing in a commercial machine wouldbe provided with a locking mechanism for holding it in place on themachine. However, since neither the details of the casing nor its mannerof connection with the machine form any part of the present invention,further description thereof will not be entered into.

Rising vertically from the platform 10 and disposed in spaced apartparallel relation are a pair of side plates 18 and 19. These plates arerigidly joined at their lower edges with the base 10 through welding orotherwise. Extending between and joining the upper ends of the plates 18and 19 is a bridge bar 20. In the preferred embodiment, the bridge barrests on horizontal flanges 18a and 19a at the upper ends of the platesand is secured thereto by metal screws 21.

Supported by and between the side plates 18 and 19 is the stamp spindle22. The spindle is polygonal in cross section through the major portionof its length and is adapted for the winding thereon of a sheet or stripof stamps to form a coil 23 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The opposed endsof the spindle are provided with reduced diameter trunnion axles 24 and25, which extend, respectively, into and through inclined slots 26 and27 and seat downwardly on the bottom edges of the slots, which arerounded to form rotary bearing surfaces for the trunnion axles. Theslots 26 and 27 are such that the spindle can easily be withdrawn bysimply lifting it in a rearward direction to withdraw it through theopen ends thereof.

To provide for maintaining the ends of the stamp coil substantiallynormal to the spindle axis, a pair of circular guide disks 28 aresupported by the spindle, one near each end. As best seen in FIG. 6,each guide disk is interposed between the shoulder 22a at the end of thepolygonal section of the spindle and the adjacent side plate, n thiscase, side plate 18. The center area of the disk is dished outwardly toform a boss 28a which in turn is provided with a central apertureadapted to fit loosely over the trunnion axle. The loose fit is topermit a limited degree of wobble of the disk so that the coil is nottightly constricted at its end. While we have shown in FIG. 6 only oneof the disks 19, it will be understood from FIG. 1 that the samearrangement is employed at the other end of the spindle.

Again referring to FIG. 6 and also to FIGS. 1 and 3, it will be notedthat the trunnion axle 24 extends well to the outside of plate 18 andhas rotatably mounted thereon on the outside of plate 18 a toothedratchet wheel 29. Ratchet wheel 29 is capable of rotation relative tothe axle 24. The axle 24 terminates in a threaded axial extension 24a.Screwed onto the extension 24a is a clutch member 30.

As will be explained in greater detail at a later point herein, theclutch member 30 forms part of a lost motion connection between thespindle 22 and the ratchet wheel 29. The latter is provided with a pinor dog 31 extending in an axial direction from the outer face thereofand and offset from the axis of rotation. The clutch member is providedwith a flat chord-like, dog-engaging surface 30a having opposed endportions which are capable of engaging the dog 31 upon relative rotationof the clutch member with respect to the ratchet wheel.

The ratchet wheel 29 is resiliently biased in a clockwise direction (asviewed in FIG. 3) relative to the cltuch member 30, and thus toward theposition shown in FIG. 3, that is, with the pin 31 engaging theleft-hand end of the chord-like surface 30a. The biasing force issupplied by a tension spring 32 connected at one end with pin 31 and atthe other end with a pin 33 secured to and extending from the clutchmember 30. Preferably the spring 32 is partially received within andguided by a channel or groove 3% formed in the clutch member (see FIG.6).

Positioned adjacent the ratchet wheel 29 and normally engaging between apair of the teeth thereof is the detent portion 34a of a pawl 34. Pawl34 is pivoted intermediate its ends to the side plate 18 through themedium of a screw 35 and spacer bracket 35a, the latter being secured tothe side plates as at 35b. At its forward end, pawl 34 is provided witha laterally extending lug 34b (see FIG. 7) which engages between theteeth of a sprocket 36a. The sprocket 35 is secured to the stub axle 36of the feed roll 37 which extends between side plates 18 and 19forwardly of and parallel with the spindle 22. While not shown indetail, a stub axle similar to axle 37 is located on the opposite end ofthe feed roll and both axles extend through corresponding, alignedapertures in side plates 18 and 19 to support the feed roll for rotationabout a fixed axis parallel with the spinning axis.

The feed roll may be of any construction desired so long as it iscapable of positively engaging with the extending end portion 23a of thecoiled stamp strip and is operable to feed the strip forwardly andoutwardly through the dispensing stamp opening 13a of the casing. In theparticular machine here used for purposes of describing the invention,the feed roll is of molded plastic and is provided on its periphery withspaced longitudinal rows of radial pins 38. The pins 38 are so spaced asto register with perforations in the stamp sheet as the sheet isadvanced. Preferably the pin rows are spaced from one another around thefeed roll a distance equal to the length of an individual stamp. Thus,the pins will strike the sheet on the perforated cross rows. The numberof pins in any given row will depend upon the strength of the sheetbeing handled. We prefer to have one or more pins per stamp.

The perforations of the stamp sheet or strip are maintained inengagement with the pins 38 of the feed roll as the latter is rotatedthrough the medium of a guide member 39. This member extendssubstantially the length of the feed roll between the side plates 18 and19 and, as shown in FIG. 4, is generally arcuate in construction with aforward portion projecting substantially tangential to the feed roll.The opposed ends of the guide member 39 rest on and are supported byarcuate shoulders such as shown at 40 in FIG. 5, which conveniently canbe formed by welding or joining a thickness of metal to thecorresponding side plate 18 or 19. The underside of the guide member 39between the shoulders is spaced just sufliciently above the feed roll asto permit free travel of the stamp strip therebetween. To accommodatemovement of the pins, the guide member is provided with alternating ribs41 and slots 42, each rib defining on the underside of the guide membera groove through which a pin is free to move as the feed roll turns. Theuse of ribs alternating with the slots rather than a continuous seriesof slots provides additional strength for the guide member and assistsin preventing warping.

The guide member 39 is locked in place against fore and aft movement oftwo upstanding ears 40a which extend upwardly from the support shoulders40 (FIGS. 1 and 5) and which are arranged to interfit with correspondingnotches cut into the ends of the guide member. Downward contact of theends of the guide member with the shoulders is maintained by a pair ofleaf springs 43, one near each end of the guide member. The leaf springsare secured at one end thereof to the guide member and are engaged andflexed downwardly by a locking rod 44 extending between the side plates18 and 19 and through aligned apertures therein. One end of the lockingrod is provided with a knob 44a by which it can be inserted andwithdrawn from the apertures. The other end is provided with an annulargroove 44]) (FIG. 1) adapted to engage the margin of its adjoiningaperture and is held in engagement therewith by the leaf springs wherebyto prevent longitudinal withdrawal of the rod unless the groove isdisengaged by lateral pressure on the rod.

As the stamp sheet is moved over the top portion of the feed roll 37 byrotation of the latter is a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 4) itis striped from the feed roll and directed toward the dispensing opening13a by the stripper plate 45. This plate has one edge 45a (FIG. 5)positioned closely adjacent the surface of the feed roll and is inclineddownwardly and outwardly to merge with a stationary horizontal shearmember 46. The edge 45a of the stripper is provided with spaced pinslots 45b to permit the passage of the pins. The forward portion of thegu1de member 39 overlies the stripper plate and cooperates therewith toprovide a confined path for the sheet after transfer from the feed rollto the stripper plate.

When the stamp sheet emerges from between guide 39 and stripper 45 itpasses over the stationary shear blade 46. Cooperating with thestationary blade is the movable shear arm 47 having the curved orarcuate blade 48. Arm 47 is pivoted to the front cross piece 49 of theframe through the medium of an elongate pin 50 secured to the arm andwhich extends through a sleeve bearing 51 formed as a part of the crosspiece. A compression spring 52 surrounds the pin 50, hearing at one endagainst the sleeve bearing, and at the other against a nut threaded ontothe pin 50. This arrangement is to accommodate slight longitudinalmovement of the pin in the bearing during the shearing stroke, in themanner of known shears of this type.

The shear arm is yieldably maintained in the raised position illustratedby the spring 53 which connects at one end with the downwardly extendingleg 47a of the shear arm, and at the other (not shown) with the crosspiece 49. Further, the free end of the arm 47 is loaded lightly towardthe shear plane by the spring 54 which connects at one end with the armand at the other with a bracket 55 secured to the forward portion ofside plate 19.

The shear is actuated from outside the casing through the medium of avertical plunger 56 having its lower end disposed above and resting onthe upper flange of the arm 47. The plunger is longitudinally slidablein a bearing 57 press fitted or otherwise secured in an aperture 17a inthe forward top portion of the casing. A depressor knob 58 is secured tothe upper end of the plunger and during the downward stroke is adaptedtoenter a recess 17b formed in the top of the casing.

The rotation of the feed roll, and thus the feeding of the sheetoutwardly through the shear and dispensing opening, is caused by themanipulation of a dial 60 which is located in an opening 170 formed inthe top of the casing- The dial is provided with a series of fingerholes 60a spaced circumferentially around the dial near the rim thereof.Preferably the dial is constructed of a transparent synthetic resin, forexample, polystyrene or methylmethacrylate. Spaced below the dial andout of rubbing contact therewith is a rigid nonrotatable backing plate61 on which are inscribed digits which are located in conformity withthe openings in the dial. To prevent wear on the inscribed digits theyare located away from the hole 60a, being visible through thetransparent body of the dial. A stationary dial stop 62 lies in the pathfollowed by a finger engaged in one of the holes and serves to controlthe extent of movement clockwise for any given turn of the dial.

The dial is supported for rotation about a vertical axis through themedium of a bearing 63 mounted on the bridge bar 20. Connected to thedial, as by screw 64, is a downwardly extending shaft 65 which extendsthrough the bearing and a suitable opening (not shown) in the bridgebar. A bevel gear 66 is secured to shaft 65 for rotation therewith andwith the dial.

Gear 66 meshes with a second bevel gear 67 which is keyed to a crossshaft 68 journaled in bearings 69 and '70. The latter are carried bytheside plates 18 and 19. Shaft 68 extends to the outside of side plate 18and has mounted thereon on the outwardly extending portion a toothedsprocket 71. This sprocket is drivingly connected with the feed rollsprocket 36a by an endless linktype drive chain 72 trained over therespective sprockets and engaged by the teeth thereof.

The slack upper flight of the chain is maintained substantially taut bya chain tightener which includes the roller 73 carried on the free endof a spring arm 74. The other end of the spring arm is afiixed to sideplate 18 by an inturned portion extending through a small hole 18b inthe side plate and a screw 75 which clamps a loop oflfset in the armagainst the side plate.

In order to prevent rotation of the dial in a direction other than thatwhich will produce rotation of the feed wheel in the stamp dispensingdirection, we have provided the chain lock escapement pawl 7 6. This isa pivotal member located just above the upper chain flight. It ispivoted at one end to side plate 18 by the shoulder screw 77. The otherend has a downwardly extending tooth 76:: adapted to fit between thelinks of the chain. The tooth is so curved on its rearward edge as topermit it to ride upwardly the cross links and fall by gravity back tolocking position between the links as the upper flight advancesdownwardly. The forward edge is preferably straight and substantiallynormal to the pivot axis of the pawl so that a wedging action will occurshould reverse movement of the chain be attempted.

The radial offset of the hole 60a of the dial and the kinematics of thegear and chain drive are such that for each unit of movement of the dialthe feed roll 37 will be rotated a distance sufficient to feed one crossrow of stamps past the shearing edge of the stationary shear blade 46.In other words, should the finger hole beside the digit 1 be engaged andthe dial advanced until the finger strikes the dial stop 63, one crossrow of stamps will extend past the shear. If the dial be moved fiveunits, the feed roll will turn sufficiently to feed five cross rows gpast the shear. The stamps are severed by depressing the plunger knob56. It Will be evident that the feed roll thus serves not only toposition the stamps for shearing along a perforated cross row, but alsoto draw the sheet from the coil 23 as stamps are dispensed.

The dial is indexed to move in unit increments by means of the pawl 34and the lug 34b carried thereby, the latter of which engages between theteeth of the feed roll sprocket 36a. The pawl lug 34 is always urgedinto the tooth-engaging position by the spring 80 which connects at oneend with the pawl 34 and at the other with a spring bracket 81 securedto side plate 18. The number of teeth on the sprocket 36a is such thatfor each unit displacement of the dial 60, that is the displacement tomove any given hole one digit, the teeth will advance one position. Thusthe pawl lug 34b will ride out of one depression into the next for eachunit of movement of the dial. To facilitate movement of the pawl lug3412, the tips of the teeth are slightly rounded.

The movement of the pawl lug 34b over a tooth of the sprocket 36a isaccompanied by rocking of the pawl in a direction to disengage thedetent 34a thereof from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 29. Care shouldbe taken to insure that the teeth of the ratchet wheel 2? aresufliciently shallow that the detent 34a will be disengaged long beforethe pawl lug 3% reaches the crest of a sprocket tooth. The quicker thedetent can be disengaged, the smoother the operation will be.

As is believed evident, the pawl detent 34b is maintained out ofengagement with the ratchet teeth until the pawl lug 34b returns againto the depression between a pair of sprocket teeth.

From the description thus far given, it will be evident that wheneverthe pawl lug 34b is engaged centrally between a pair of sprocket teeth,the detent 34a is engaged with the teeth of the ratchet wheel. Thus,upon the com pletion of any given dial turn, the ratchet wheel is engaged and yieldably restrained against further rotation by the detent34a. The spindle 22., however, is not stopped immediately. It maycontinue under its own inertia momentum, particularly if the dial hasbeen moved quickly, until the right-hand end of the dog engaging surface30a on clutch member 30 moves into engagement with the dog 31. Therelative positions of the clutch member 30 and ratchet wheel 29 at thispoint are illustrated in FIG. 8. While the spring 32 tends to deceleratethe spindle before the right hand portion of surface 3% strikes the dog,nevertheless, when the coil is large there is sufiicient momentum as tocause the wheel to advance slightly against the resistance imposed bythe pawl detent 34a and its spring 80. In other words, the momentum ofthe coil causes the detent at this instant to serve as a brakingratchet. The additional movement of the spindle is, however, only asmall fraction of a revolution, so overrunning is effectively prevented.

Though the clutch member 30 and dog 31 have stopped in the positionillustrated in FIG. 8, the initial movement of the dial in the nextdispensing operation causes them to resume the relative position shownin FIG. 1. This is because as the detent 34a is disengaged from theteeth of ratchet wheel 29, the spring 32 pulls the ratchet wheelclockwise to bring dog 31 back to engagement with the left-hand portionof surface 30a.

The lost motion connection afforded between the spindle and ratchetwheel by the clutch member 30 and dog 31 is also important in situationswhere the dial is operated to feed out more than one cross row of stampsat a time. It will be remembered that for each unit of movement of thedial the detent 34a returns to a tooth engaging position. This tends tostop the wheel 29 momentarily. However, the spindle can continue to turnfreely. As soon as the detent 34a is again disengaged, the spring 32draws the dog 31 back to the relative position of FIG. 1. The criticalpoint to note is that the detent 340: must be so constructed andarranged as to again disengage before the right hand portion of surface30a reaches the dog 31.

From the foregoing it should be evident that even should the stripportion 23a be stretched tightly between the feed roll and coil, thecoil is free to advance a limited distance even though the ratchet wheel29 be momentarily restrained by the detent 34a. This avoids any dangerof parting of the strip because of excess tension.

The pawl 34 is also utilized as a part of the mechanism for locking theunit to prevent dispensing when so desired. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3,it will be noted that located beneath the pawl is a cam 85 mountedeccentrically on a shaft 86 which extneds through the side plates 18 and19 and terminates in a key lock barrel 87. When the machine is beingused, the cam is in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3. To lockthe dispensing mechanism key 88 is inserted in the lock barrel andturned to bring the cam to the broken line position of FIG. 3. When inthis position, pawl 34 is immobilized and thus the dispensing mechanismis firmly locked.

The successful operation of the unit depends in large part on theirbeing a firm nonslipping connection between the stamp coil 23 andspindle 22. We have found that providing the spindle with a polygonalcross section achieves this remarkably well. However, it is not ourintention to limit the invention to a polygonal spindle alone, sincevarious configurations involving ridges or knurling will adequatelyserve the purpose.

From the foregong it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a stamp dispensing machine, the combination of a rotatable spindleadapted to carry a coil of stamps with the outer-end portion of the coilextending away from the coil, a feed roll spaced from and parallel withsaid spindle with the end portion of the coil trained thereover, meanson the feed roll providing tractive engage ment with the portion trainedover the feed wheel, feed wheel operating means connected with said feedroll and operable to cause selective advance of said end portion wherebyto impart rotation to said spindle through drawing on the coil, atoothed ratchet wheel connected with the spindle and rotatabletherewith, a detent resiliently biased toward and into engagement withsaid ratchet wheel, and means connecting said feed wheel operating meanswith said detent and operable responsive to said operating means at thestart of rotation of said feed wheel to disengage said detent from saidratchet wheel whereby to free said feed wheel for rotation.

2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said spindle is polygonal incross section to provide sharp edges for engaging the inside turn of thestamp coil.

3. The combination as in claim 1 including mechanism providing a lostmotion connection between ratchet wheel and said spindle whereby topermit said spindle to advance a short distance independently of saidratchet wheel whenever said ratchet wheel is restrained against movementby said pawl.

4. In a stamp dispensing machine the combination of rotatable spindlehaving a strip of stamps wound thereon in coil form with the outer endportion of the strip leading away spaced from and parallel with thecoil, a stamp feed roll from the spindle with the end portion of thestrip trained over a portion of said roll, said feed roll having meansfor engaging the stamps trained thereover and operable upon rotation ofthe feed roll to unwind the coil and rotate the spindle, a toothedcircular member connected with one end of said feed wheel for rotationtherewith, a second toothed circular member connected with thecorresponding end of said spindle, a pawl member pivoted intermediateits ends and having one end adjacent the teeth of said first circularmember and the other end adjacent the teeth of said second member, saidrespective ends of the pawl member having portions adapted to engagewith the teeth of the adjacent circular members, means resilientlybiasing said portions of the pawl member into engagement with the teethof the circular members, feed roll drive means operable to initiaterotation of the feed roll and thereby rock the pawl to disengage thepawl portion engaged with the teeth of said second circular member, theconnection between said second circular member and said spindle soconstructed as to permit limited movement of the spindle relative saidsecond circular member whenever said teeth on said second circularmember are engaged by the adjacent pawl portion.

5. The combination as in claim 4 including resilient means connectingsaid spindle and said second circular member and arranged to yieldablyresist said limited movement.

6. The combination as in claim 4 wherein said second circular member isrotatably supported on the spindle, said connection including a dog onone of said members and a dog engaging surface on the other.

7. The combination as in claim 4 including manual locking means operableto releasably engage said pawl member and urge said portions thereofinto locked engagement with said teeth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,258,912 Steen et a1 Oct. 14, 1941 2,601,062 Singer June 17, 19522,710,063 Krueger June 7, 1955 2,712,442 Hanson July 5, 1955 2,720,262Hanson Oct. 11, 1955 2,740,581 Komusin Apr. 3, 1956 3,061,162 Adams Oct.30, 1962

1. IN A STAMP DISPENSING MACHINE, THE COMBINATION OF A ROTATABLE SPINDLEADAPTED TO CARRY A COIL OF STAMPS WITH THE OUTER END PORTION OF THE COILEXTENDING AWAY FROM THE COIL, A FEED ROLL SPACED FROM AND PARALLEL WITHSAID SPINDLE WITH THE END PORTION OF THE COIL TRAINED THEREOVER, MEANSON THE FEED ROLL PROVIDING TRACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PORTION TRAINEDOVER THE FEED WHEEL, FEED WHEEL OPERATING MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID FEEDROLL AND OPERABLE TO CAUSE SELECTIVE ADVANCE OF SAID END PORTION WHEREBYTO IMPART ROTATION TO SAID SPINDLE THROUGH DRAWING ON THE COIL, ATOOTHED RATCHET WHEEL CONNECTED WITH THE SPINDLE AND ROTATABLETHEREWITH, A DETENT RESILIENTLY BIASED TOWARD AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITHSAID RATCHET WHEEL, AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID FEED WHEEL OPERATING MEANSWITH SAID DETENT AND OPERABLE RESPONSIVE TO SAID OPERATING MEANS AT THESTART OF ROTATION OF SAID FEED WHEEL TO DISENGAGE SAID DETENT FROM SAIDRATCHET WHEEL WHEREBY TO FREE SAID FEED WHEEL FOR ROTATION.